If songs feed the spirit, I simply don’t know if I could possibly eat any more after this last week. I need to take a walk after the big meal. Maybe I could drink a tiny espresso, or break off a very small corner of dark chocolate.
I had my favorite album release night ever last week. And it wasn’t about my album, or about those songs. That Thursday night, I was already up late, at a 5 hour long closing concert of Sad Songs Summer Camp, hosted by beloved folk duo The Milk Carton Kids. “It’s like… summer camp for adults,” I said to my Lyft driver. All week long, I got to sit with campers who were discovering the power of sharing their own inner worlds through the craft of songwriting. I also got to teach a songwriting class about the creative process and recognizing the gems in your own story and perseverance, but I sort of taught the whole thing through a metaphor about growing watermelons — which probably doesn’t surprise any of you at all :)
And then on that final night, on July 23, all the campers got an opportunity to perform their freshest songs, written that week, at this marathon open mic in a barn in the Catskills. To be a witness to dozens of new songs being birthed — and to be a witness to the unflinching courage of dozens of people quieting their stage fright demons in real time and sharing from the depths of their human souls — I mean, it was a seriously profound concert. And then around midnight, which was still right in the thick of the concert, I got to steal away for a few minutes to pray that the rural internet was still working enough for me to release my new album.
That part might be surprising — that to release an album on Bandcamp, someone (in this case, me) has to actually physically press “release” in the Bandcamp platform. With the help of CD Baby, the music shows up automatically on platforms like Spotify and Tidal and iTunes. But Bandcamp — which is the hub of my own little independent musical world and where so many of you purchase your actual physical copies and downloads of the music — it has this little hands-on quirk to it. I have to actually notice that it has turned to July 24th, and then go and release the album. At midnight on release night, I get to pause whatever I am doing and go turn the lights on, flip the store window to “open”.
I felt such a profound peace while I was walking to my cottage to release All My Faith. And it wasn’t just about my joy in offering these particular 10 new songs to you. It was a physical place and time peace, of being at a summer camp carved out of a forest. Of being in a nourishing creative space carved out of a chaotic world. It was an emotional place and time peace, of true abundance, of being in the midst of new-song-creation itself that night, feeling soaked from the river of creativity that connects all of us, when we are willing to see it and accept it and live in its clear waters.
That night in the Catskills in upstate New York, under a sky with very bright stars and with the roar of supportive cheers from the open mic in the barn in the background, I snuck into my cottage and released All My Faith. And then I went back to the party, back to the open mic, to hear more new songs.
I have so much more I want to tell you about the beautiful days and beautiful conversations surrounding the release of these new songs, but this feels like plenty for now. Thank you so much for listening. And please join us on tour this fall! And please spread the word to your friends! In the year 2026, word of mouth is still the single best way to get the news from one side of the mountain to the other. New shows — and a songwriting workshop in SLC — have been added, don’t miss em! (new shows in Seattle on Sept 30, Portland on Oct 1, Ann Arbor on Sept 13, Philly on Nov 14, and more!)
xo Maya
8/9 Sun - Rocky Mountain Folks’ Festival - Lyons, CO
8/14 Fri - Trash Moon Collective Concert + Songwriting Workshop - Salt Lake City, UT
8/29-30 Sat-Sun - Great River Folk Festival - La Crosse, WI
9/11 Fri - Mother Stewart’s Brewing - Springfield, OH
9/12 Sat - The GAR Hall - Peninsula, OH
9/13 - The Ark - Ann Arbor, MI
9/16 Wed - Shi-tty Barn - Spring Green, WI
9/21-24 Mon-Thu - Sisters Americana Song Academy (instructor) - Sisters, OR
9/25-27 Fri-Sun - Sisters Folk Festival - Sisters, OR
9/29 Tue - Wild Child - Olympia, WA
9/30 Wed - Ballard Homestead - Seattle, WA
10/1 Thu - White Eagle Saloon - Portland, OR
10/2 Fri - Mount Baker Theatre - Bellingham, WA
10/4 Sun - McCabe’s Guitar Shop - Santa Monica, CA (co-bill with Mark Erelli)
10/6 Tue - Yodel Tone - Bishop, CA (co-bill with Mark Erelli)
10/8 Thu - lille æske - Boulder Creek, CA (co-bill with Mark Erelli)
10/9 Fri - Hillside Club - Berkeley, CA (co-bill with Mark Erelli)
10/15 Thu - Lockeland House - Nashville, TN
10/17 Sat - AyurPrana Listening Room - Asheville, NC (opening set by Lyle de Vitry)
10/18 Sun - Eddie’s Attic - Decatur, GA
10/22 Thu - TBD Fort Collins, CO (save the date)
10/23 Fri - Trade and Post - Del Norte, CO (save the date - info tbd)
10/24 Sat - Gold Hill Inn - Boulder, CO (save the date - tix on sale soon)
10/25 Sun - Swallow Hill Music - Denver, CO
11/5 Thu - Caffe Lena - Saratoga Springs, NY
11/7 Sat - Burnham Presents - Lincoln, VT
11/8 Sun - Club Passim - Cambridge, MA
11/11 Wed - Weis Center - Lewisburg, PA
11/12 Thu - Jammin’ Java - Vienna, VA
11/13 Fri - Club Cafe - Pittsburgh, PA
11/14 Sat - Harmonie Hall - Philadelphia, PA
11/15 Sun - Tellus 360 - Lancaster, PA
5/20/27 Thu - Marathon Center for the Performing Arts - Findlay, OH
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